End connection for wrist watch straps and bracelets



P 1951 w. J. PFEIFER 2,

END CONNECTION FOR WRIST WATCH STRAPS AND BRACELETS Filed May 27, 1948INVENTOR.

Ail-6122123 Patented Sept. 11 1951 END'CONNECTION FOR WRIST WATCH STRAPSAND BRACELETS William Joseph'Pfeifer, Point Pleasant, N. J., assignortoForstner Chain Corporation, a corporationof New Jersey Application May27, 19,48,'S.erial No. 29,581

6 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to .the jewelry art, and has particularreference to improvevments in end connections for wrist watch strapsmovement of the cover platerelative to the housing is required foropening and closing movement of the end connection parts.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an end connectionwhich includes a housingslidably mounted on the .strap end, and a coverelement which is secured to the strap end and releasably engages thehousing'to lock received watch bail therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a snap lock cover platefor an end connection housing which utilizes pull or tension of thestrap parts to retain the. cover plate in closed relation to thehousing.

A further object of the invention is to provide an end connectionadapted toreceive a watch bail or the like and a cooperating cover forthe housing which is hinged to thestrap end and releasably interlockswith the housing.

With the above and-other-objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of a novel arrangement Qfpartsmore fully-disclosed inthe detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

, In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective-view of a wristwatch strap equippedwith'illustrative end connections embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3.,is a detail sectionalview on theQline -33 of Fig. 2, the endconnection parts being in closed relation;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, the parts being shown in openrelation;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the end connector parts inclosed relation; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged exploded view showing the individual parts of Fig.5.

It has been found desirable to provide an end connection for a wristwatch strap or bracelet, which includes a housing adapted to slidablyseat on the strap end and which has a watch bail receiving recess, and acover or lock late which is secured to the strap end, preferably bymeans of a hinge connection, and which releasably interlooks with thehousing to cover the recessand lock the watch bail therein. To this endI provide a housin which has a hollow body through which the strap endextends, and which has a forwardly extending tongue shaped in hook'formto provide a watch bail receiving recess; and I provide a. cover platewhich extends into the hollow body and is hingedly connected to thestrap end and is adapted to .snap lock with the housing tongue when thecover plate moves back into the hollow body.

Referring to the drawings, the wrist watch strap H) is detachablyconnected to a watch or ornament II by end connections 12, a preferreddesign for the end connections and theirparts being shown in Figs. 5 and6. p

The illustrated end connection I2 is preferably made of resilient metaland includes a housing I 3 having a hollow body it with a bottom l5,sides iii, ii, and a top is, the sides curving as illustrated to mergewith th bottom and the bottom having a resilient tongue 19 which widenslaterally and extends upwardly and has a rearwardly directed terminallip 23, whereby a recess 2| is formed to receive a watch bail 22 .or thelike, see Fig. 3.

The .end 23 of the wrist watch strap has a hinge plate 24 securedthereto, as by a rivet or rivets 25 which passes through alignedopenings in the strap end and the hinge plate. The hinge plate 24% hasspaced hinge rolls 2G, and a cover plate 27 has a, hinge roll 28 adaptedto seatinltermediate the hinge rolls 28 and to be hinged thereto bymeans of a hinge pin 29. The cover plate 21 has inclined sides 38, Siwhich are narrow at the hinge end and extend into the housing body,aslot 52 being provided at eachhousi-ng side to act as a guide, and thecover plate widens at the outer end to provide a snap edge 33 adapted tosnap below the tongue lip 20, the end of the cover plate having avertical extension 34 and a horizontal extension 35 which 00- operatewith the snap edge 33 to form a recess 36 for receiving the tongue lip20; the extension 35 covers the tongue lip 20 when in closed relation.

With the parts assembled and closed as shown in Fig. 5, the cover platemay be pulled up enough to release the snap edge 33 from the under sideof the tongue lip 20, and then swung to open the housing recess 2| asshown in Fig. 4, this swinging movement against the front edge of thehousing body pulling the strap' end forwardly. When the watch bail isinserted in the housing recess the cover plate may be snapped 3 down,see Fig. 3, the closing movement snapping the edge 33 below the tonguelip which seats in the recess 36; at the same time the cover plateslides back into the body of the housing through the guide slots 32.

It is thus clear that the locking movement combines a snap lock with arelative sliding moveunent of the cover plate which firmly locks the:parts in closed position; the cover plate is firmly held at its forwardend and seats in the guide slots at its rear end to be firmly held inthe hollow body against swinging movement. Inadvertent opening of theparts is prevented, as opening requires a forward movement of the coverplate against the tension or pull of the wrist watch strap as well as aturning movement of the cover plate.

Although I have described a specific constructional embodiment of theinvention, such changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of the partsmay be made as are desirable for different wrist watch strap andbracelet designs, within the spirit :and the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. An end connection for a wrist watch strap or th like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body, a forwardly extending element forming arecess, said element having a terminal lip, a hinge plate movablypositioned in the hollow body and adapted to be connected to a braceletend extending into the hollow body, and a cover plate having its rearend hinged to the hinge plate and its forward end provided with a snapedge adapted. to releasably snap past the housing element terminal lip,the sides of the hollow body having guide slots for receiving the rearend of the cover plate.

2. An end connection fora wrist watch strap or the like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body with a top, sides and bottom, an extensionon said bottom forming a tongue spaced from the body to provide a recesstherebetween, said tongue having a terminal lip, and a cover plate withtapered sides, the narrow end of said cover plate extending into thehollow body, a hinge plate in said hollow body hinged to the coverplate, the wide end of said cover plate having a snap edge adapted toreleasably snap past the housing tongue terminal lip.

3. An end connection for a wrist watch strap or the like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body with a top, sides and bottom, an extensionon said bottom forming a tongue spaced from the body to provide a recesstherebetween, said tongue having a terminal lip, and a cover plate withtapered sides, the narrow end of said cover plate extending into thehollow body; a hinge plate in said hollow body hinged to the coverplate, the wide end of said cover plate having a snap edge adapted toreleasably snap past '4 the housing tongue terminal lip, the sides ofthe hollow body having guide parts slidably engaging the narrow end ofthe cover plate.

4. An end connection for a wrist watch strap or the like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body with a top, sides and bottom, an extensionon said bottom forming a tongue spaced from the body to provide a recesstherebetween, said tongue having a terminal lip, and a cover plate withtapered sides, the narrow end of said cover plate extending into thehollow body, a hinge plate in said hollow body hinged to the coverplate, the wide end of said cover plate having a snap edge adapted toreleasably snap past the housing tongue terminal lip, the sides of thehollow body having guide slots slidably engaging the narrow end of thecover plate.

5. An end connection for a wrist watch strap or the like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body with a top, sides and bottom, an extensionon said bottom forming a tongue spaced from the body to provide a recesstherebetween, said tongue having a terminal lip, and a cover plate withtapered sides, the narrow end of said cover plate extending into thehollow body, a hinge plate in said hollow body hinged to the coverplate, the wide end of said cover plate having a recess to receive thehousing tongue terminal lip and a snap edge adapted to releasably snappast the housing tongue terminal lip.

6. An end connection for a wrist watch strap or the like, comprising ahousing having a hollow body with a top, sides and bottom, an extensionon said bottom forming a tongue spaced from the body to provide a recesstherebetween, said tongue having a terminal lip, and a cover plate withtapered sides, the narrow end of said cover plate extending into thehollow body and adapted to be hingedly connected to a strap or braceletend, and the wide end of said cover plate having a recess to receive thehousing tongue terminal lip and a snap edge adapted to releasably snappast the housing tongue terminal lip, the sides of the hollow bodyhaving guide slots slidably engaging the narrow end of the cover plate.

WILLIAM JOSEPH PFEIFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

